Argyle need to be at their best

Pilgrims’ boss is respectful of the threat that well-drilled Accrington side will pose

PLAY-OFF chasing Plymouth Argyle will have to be at their best when they take on Accrington Stanley at Home Park today, Steven Schumacher has declared.

The Pilgrims’ boss is respectful of the threat that John Coleman’s welldrilled Accrington side can pose, especially from set pieces.

Argyle won 4-1 away to Accrington in November but Schumacher admitted the game had been closer than the scoreline suggested.

The visitors arrive off a 1-1 draw away to Sheffield Wednesday, one of the Pilgrims’ rivals in the play-off race, on Tuesday night.

Schumacher said: “Another tough game. They are a side that on their day can get big results against some good teams.

“Recently they have beaten Wycombe, they have beaten Charlton, got a great result the other night against Sheffield Wednesday, who have been flying.

“They are a team who are always well organised, have a good team spirit and will be a massive threat.”

Argyle are fifth in League One with 68 points from 37 games, and in the past 74-75 points has been enough to secure a play-off place.

However, the race for the four spots is so competitive this season that it could take quite a few more than that.

There is eight points between Oxford United in fourth, who are above Argyle on goal difference, and ninth-placed Ipswich Town.

Schumacher said: “It’s going to be a hard run-in, a difficult nine games. All the teams, as this league has proved this season, can take points off each other, that’s why it’s so tight.

“We are going to have to be at our best in the next nine if we want to get into them play-off spots.

“Usually it’s 74 points on average that gets you there but this season might be different. That just shows how competitive it is, and luckily we are one of the teams who are in good form.

“It’s eight wins in 10, but they are gone now. The next one is right in front of us. We will have to be at our best as usual and compete with Accrington because they fight all the way.

“I remember the game earlier on in the season against them, it was really close until Ryan Broom scored a worldie which made it look a little bit more comfortable than it was.”

Schumacher added: “They will be wanting to come here and do a job on us and we will have to be at our best to stop them.

“They pose threats, like every team does in this division. They have got some good forward players and they are huge, they are one of the taller sides in the division.

“They score loads of goals from set pieces so we will have to limit their opportunities... and defend the balls into our box when we have to.”

Today’s match will be Argyle’s fifth of a hectic March, with another two still to come before the end of the month - at home to Cheltenham Town next Tuesday and away to Ipswich Town next week.

Schumacher said: “The two games that we got postponed over Christmas meant that we knew March was going to be mad busy.

“That’s why we have used the squad as we have. We have rotated players in certain areas, and left people out if they are not quite right, because we have got people who can come in and perform just to the same high standard.

“We have been quite fortunate that we have been able to use our whole squad and we haven’t had too many injuries.”